Mermaid Beach Ku Band VSAT Project – ABC

In October 2010 Av-Comm completed the Mermaid Beach Ku Band VSAT project on behalf of the ABC. The project provided an upgrade to the existing satellite reception facilities at the ABC Radio Studios at Mermaid Beach on the Gold Coast. The upgrade consisted of the installation of a Prodelin 1385 3.8m Tx/Rx antenna accompanied with a 125 watt Paradise Solid State Power Amplifier (SSPA) configured for the ABC interchange slots on Optus D2. This upgrade would allow the Mermaid Beach studio to uplink content directly into the main ABC offices located in each capital city.

The installation works initially began with the removal of a 3.7m Television Receive-Only (TVRO) satellite dish. The dish was removed, carefully disassembled, and transported back to the ABC storage facility in Brisbane. Then the existing mounting pole was modified according to engineers specifications to accept the additional wind loadings of the larger and heavier Prodelin 1835 3.8m dish. The Prodelin dish was fitted with a two-port receive feedhorn and single-port transmit waveguide flange. This configuration allowed the Mermaid Beach facility to continue to receive both polarities from the Optus D2 satellite as well as having the increased uplink capacity.

The Paradise SSPA was mounted, and the WR-75 rigid waveguide was plumbed up to the transmit port on the dish. The LDF-450 coaxial cable was run from the SSPA input to the modulator/encoder located in the main equipment room.

The system was then configured, tested, and commissioned with the assistance of the Optus Earth Station in Belrose, Sydney. Upon completion of the commissioning, the site was certified for use on the Optus D2 satellite.

About us

Av-Comm is a second generation, family operated business that was established in 1981. Our team has over 60 years experience in the satellite and terrestrial communication installation industry making us one of the most experienced teams in the Pacific Region. [Read More]